The ending of the book invites us to think about compassion – and asks us to think of who we should show more compassionate to – a hurricane survivor, who has lost everything, or an illegal immigrant, who has left everything. Which leaves you thinking and asking yourself - are they, or can they be one of the same?

The story follows a son and his father as they prepare the house in the last hours of an approaching hurricane – whether they should have evacuated or held fast to the father’s belief that the house was built to withstand the full force of a terrible storm.

The story was a real eye opener to the terror of what people on the other side of the world face when a hurricane is on the radar. The best human efforts are ruthless against the natural world and the horror of what happens to the father and Son mimics the stories we read in newspapers across the world.

Florida is a beautiful place we see in films and on the TV, but it certainly has a price to pay when nature strikes.

A very thought-provoking read.

This is a very short narrative, more an essay really with a clear purpose. It reminds me of reading the work of a pupil as it is written more in the style of an account, rather than a story. It is however, appropriate and poignant.

'Be more compassionate' is the important message in this thought-provoking short story. The novel compares compassion offered to the survivors of Hurricane Ian and the compassion offered to illegal immigrants. The well written story gives you a lot to think about after the final page.

A harrowing and emotive story, full of thought-provoking moments. The setting is the beautiful barrier island of Sanibel on the Florida coast. It is a story about death and destruction and the loss of all hope. The hurricane when it hit in September 2022 was one of the worst in Florida history and Sanibel was right at the eye of the storm.
The author challenges the reader to think about humanity and compassion, and the people in the Rio Grande River, who like the characters in the story have nowhere to go. All those immigrants have personal stories too and one must learn to understand their needs and make them welcome.

Hurricane Ian
by CS Runn

I loved how in a short story CS Runn told of loss, fairness and how people in the U.S. treat people in need. It was a real wake-up, some can write 400 pages and not make their point. Being from Texas there is plenty of unjust and seeing the effects of Hurricane Catrine in Louisiana. Bravo. Loved and broke my heart.

Hurricane Ian is a parable, a short story that illustrates different reactions to different events. On Sanibel Island during the deadly September onslaught of the hurricane, a young boy is trapped in what he and his father believe to be a safe house. The father underestimated the power of the storm and is swept away. His son survives, is taken to a shelter where a volunteer takes pity on the boy and takes him home with her. Author C.S. Runn compares this to immigration at our southern border. There children stand, confused and having lost everything, yet we lack the compassion to care for them in the same way that the volunteer did after the storm. Why?

There are obvious parallels and differences to this approach. It is, however, powerful. Since it is very short, I would be interested to know how this will be published and where. I’d like to see it get the publicity it deserves. It’s definitely a conversation starter. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and C.S. Runn for this ARC.